In the wake of the horrific rape and murder of a female veterinary doctor, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet introduced and approved the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019, or ‘Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill’ for speedy justice in sexual crime cases.
According to The Hindu, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney issued a government order on January 2 appointing two Disha Special Officers for implementing the same.
The first is Dr. Kritika Shukla who is an IAS officer and Director of the Women Development & Child Welfare Department. The second is IPS officer Deepika Mandava Patil who has been transferred from Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration) in Kurnool to Additional Director-General of Police, Crime Investigation Department (CID).
Andhra Pradesh: Govt of Andhra Pradesh has appointed Dr. Kritika Shukla (pic 1), IAS & M. Deepika (pic 2), IPS as Special Officers for implementing the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act 2019, which is intended for speedy trial & faster execution in cases of sexual offences against women. pic.twitter.com/3Ko5BtD5KU
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2020
For the uninitiated, the Act reduces the timeline for judgements in cases of conclusive evidence from 4 months to 3 weeks. The investigation deadline is a week and the trial is to be completed in two weeks.
NDTV reports that in rape cases, the verdict has to be pronounced within 21 days and an appeal can be filed within 45 days (which was 6 months earlier).
The amendments also include the death penalty for perpetrators and the formation of special courts in each of the 13 districts of the state to fast-track cases of sexual offences against women and children (i.e. rape, acid attack and social media harassment).